Derailing device for railways



L t e e h s s t e e h s. 2

(No Model.)

UERAILING DEVICE FOR RAILWAYS.

Patented Nov. 3, 1896.

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(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet '2.

G. GIBBS. DERAILING DEVICE FOR RAILWAYS.

No. 570,596. Patented Nov. 3, 1896.

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UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE GIBBS, OF MILIVAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

DERAILING DEVICE FOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 570,596, dated November3, 1896. Application filed July 18, 1896- Serial No. 599,714. (Nomodel.)

T 0 (all whom it 777/01] concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE GIBBS, of Milwaukee, in the county ofMilwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Derailing Devices for Railways; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, whichform a part of this specification.

The main object of my invention is to provide means that will operatewith certainty, under all conditions, to derail cars running ontram-rails in the streets of cities or other places where the heads ofthe rails are laid approximately flush with the street surface, and, inthe attainment of that end, to avoid joints in the track-rails andobstructions to the passage of ordinary vehicles, and to preventfreezing or clogging of the movable parts and operating connections ofthe device.

It consists, essentially, of a rail having a portion of its head removedand provided with a laterally-movable part which, in its normalposition, constitutes a continuation of the rail-head, and in abnormalposition presents an incline or turnout and an opening through therail-head in the path of the wheel-flanges; and it consists, further, ofcertain novel details in the construction and arrangement of componentparts of the device, as hereinafter particularly described, and pointedout in the claims. a

In the accompanying drawings like letters designate the same parts inthe several figures.

Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of a portion of a railway-track androad-bed to which my improved derailing device is applied, a portion ofthe pavement being removed to more clearly disclose the device. Fig. 2is a plan view of the same, showing two car-trucks or pairs of wheels,one of which is approaching the derailing device upon the track and theother is derailed'by the operation of the device, which is representedin its open or abnormal position. Fig. 3 is a vertical crosssection ofthe device on the line 3 3, Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a plan view showingportions of the device broken away; and Fig. 5 is a verticallongitudinal section on the line 5 5, Fig. 4.

A A designate the rails, and B B the ties, of an ordinary street-railwaytrack. I have shown, for the purpose of illustration, a common form ofrail having an inwardly-projecting flange slightly below the head forthe accommodation of wagons; but my device is applicable to otherformsof rails, such as are commonly employed for steam and street railwayservice.

0 designates the paving, .which, with this class of railways, is usuallylaid with its surface approximately flush or a little below the heads ofthe rails.

D is a hollow casting open on the outer side and fitted on the oppositeside to the outside of the rail A, so as to bear against the web andupon the flange or base of the rail, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. It isformed on the upper side with end ribs or flanges cl d at right angleswith the rail-head, and between these flanges it is made or finishedplain and smooth. On its outer side, a little below the top, it isformed with an outwardlyprojecting horizontal flange cl for theattachment of the plank or plate which covers the box for theoperating-rod or connection of the device, as hereinafter explained.

E is a block or casting fitted to the inner side of the web and base ofrail A and'secured to the casting D by bolts F F, by means of which saidcastings are firmly clamped to opposite sides of the rail, with theirupper surface in the same plane approximately at a level with the top ofthe rail-web. The head of the rail is cut away between the two castingsa distance equal to the length of the casting E; but the web and baseare left intact and continuous with those portions of the rail extendingfromboth ends of the derailing device. To avoid unnecessary weight andconsumption of material, the casting E may be recessed in the innerside, sleeves or bearings being formedthe full width of the castingaround the clamping-bolts F, as

shown.

G is a plate fitted on its under side to rest and slide upon the topsurface of the castings D and E,which constitute a base or foundationtherefor, and at its ends it is fitted between the end flanges cl cl ofthe casting D and the ends of the rail-head, which terminate flush withsaid flanges. It is formed or provided on its under side with a lug orperforated ear g, which projects through a transverse slot (Z in the topof casting D, and to which the operating-rod H is attached. This lug orear may be riveted to the plate G, as shown, or it maybe cast integrallytherewith. The plate G is held down in place upon its base by bolts g g,projecting downwardly through transverse slots (1 d in the top ofcasting D, and provided with retaining-nuts and washers below saidslots, as shown in Fig. 5. It is formed or provided on its upper sidewith a longitudinal rib or bar 9 which is straight on the inner side,and, in the normal or closed position of the device,

- constitutes a continuation of the head of rail A from end to end ofthe break therein. On the outer side it is formed for a certain distancefrom the end toward which cars approach it straight or parallel with theinner side, and for the remainder of its length it is inclined or turnedoutwardly, so that in the open or abnormal position of the device itwill engage the inner side of the flange of a car-wheel which passesover the break in the rail and turn it out of its course, therebyforcing the car or motor to which it belongs off from the track, asshown at the right of Fig. 2. The straight portion of the outer side ofsaid rib or bar is made of sufficient length to allow a wheel-flange toclear the adjacent end of the rail-head before it engages theoutwardly-inclined portion of said bar, thereby preventing the stickingor binding of the wheel-flange between said bar and the railhead or thebreaking of the wheel-flange. \Vhen the plate G is moi ed inwardly intoits open or abnormal position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, an opening ispresented in the path of the wheel-flange through the rail between thenarrow end of the bar g and the adjacent end of the rail-head. The plateG is made of sufiicient width to cover in either position the slots onthe top of casting D, and is beveled on the sides, as shown in Fig. 3,so as to form sharp edges next to the base D E, upon which it rests andslides, and thereby loosen and remove from said base ice, dirt, or otherobstructions which may form or accumulate thereon and tend to clog orobstruct the movement of said plate.

The operating-rod H is connected in the usual or any suitable mannerwith a lever in a signal or watchmans tower, or at any other convenientpoint, for the operation of the device, and is inclosed where it passesunder the surface of the street or roadwayin a shallow box I, which maybe conveniently constructed of planks, the plank forming the cover beingbolted to the flange d of casting D. Either or both the lug or ear g orthe bolts 9 g constitute stops,which, by engagement with the ends of theslots 61 and (Z limit the movement of the plate G in both directions atthe proper points and prevent strain upon and injury to the operatingconnections of the device. The outward movement of said plate isarrested when the inner side of the rib or bar g is in line with theinner side of the head of rail A, and its inward movement is arrestedwhen said rib or bar is approximately in the position shown in thedrawings.

In the construction and application of my device to a railway-track thecontinuity of the rail web and base is preserved, a portion only of thehead of the rail being cut away, thereby avoiding breaks and joints inthe rails, as in the case of the ordinary forms of frogs andswitches,which for this reason are diflicult and expensive to maintain.The exposed upper face of' the device, being practically flush with theroadway and without projections, oifers no obstruction to wagons andordinary vehicle traffic, and consequently the exposed parts of thedevice are not pounded out of surface by such traffic. The necessity ofproviding a deep box and foundation below the ties, thus forming apocket or well for catching drainage, is avoided. The operating-rod Hand its connection with the plate G are thoroughly protected from dirtand freezing, the openings in the top of casting D, containing saidconnection, being at all times closed by the plate G. Clogging orobstruction to the operation of the device by dirt or ice is thusefiectually prevented.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the details ofconstruction herein shown and described,as they may be variouslymodified within the spirit and intended scope of my invention.

1. A derailing device, consisting of a fixed bed-plate or base, a platemovably mounted thereon and formed or provided on its upper side with arib constituting in the normal or closed position of the device acontinuation of the inner and upper sides of the head of a rail, andhaving on its outer side an incline or turnout adapted in the abnormalor open position of the device to engage the inner sides ofwheel-flanges and turn them from their course off from the track-railssubstantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2; A derailing device consisting of a base composed of two parts adaptedto be clamped to opposite sides of the rail-Web, a laterallymovableplate mounted upon said base and formed or provided on the upper sidewith a rib which is straight on the inside and inclined or turnedoutwardly on the out-side, said rib constituting in the normal or closedposition of the device a continuation of the inner and upper sides ofthe rail-head, and a connection for moving said plate laterally on saidbase, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. A derailing device consisting of a base, adapted to be secured to arailway-track, and a laterally-movable plate mounted to slide thereonand provided onits upper side with ICC a rib which is straight on theinside and inclined or turned outwardly on the outside, said platehaving beveled edges adapted to clear obstructions from the face of thebase upon which it slides, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

4. A derailing device consisting of a hollow or recessed base, having atransverse slot in the upper side, a laterally-movable plate mountedthereon and provided on its upper side with a rib which is straight onthe inside and inclined or turned outwardly on the outside, and on theunder side with a projection which is adapted to traverse the slot insaid base and by engagement with the ends of said slot to limit themovement of said plate in either direction, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

5. In a derailing device the combination with a railway-rail having itshead cut away for a certain length, of a base composed of two blocksclamped to opposite sides of the rail-web from which the head isremoved, a laterally-movable plate mounted upon said base and formed orprovided on its upper side with a rib which is straight on the insideand inclined or turned outwardly on the outside, said rib norm allyfilling the break in the railhead and constituting a continuationthereof, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. A derailing device consisting of a base, a plate provided on itsupper side with a rib straight on the inside and for aportion of itslength outside, which from the termination of its straight portion isinclined or turned outwardly, said rib being adapted to serve in itsnormal position as a part or continuation of the head of a railway-rail,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. In a derailing device the combination with a railway-rail having itshead cut away for a certain length, of a laterally-movable plate or bar,forming in normal position a continuation of the rail-head over thebreak therein, and presenting in abnormal position an incline or turnouton the outside and an opening in the path of the wheel-flanges,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

8. The combination with a railway-rail having its head cut away for acertain'distance, the web and flange being left continuous and unbroken,of a derailing device secured to that part of the rail web and flangefrom which the head is removed and comprising a laterally-movable plateor bar adapted in normal position to close the break in the railhead andform a continuation thereof on the inside, and in abnormal positionpresenting an incline or turnout for engaging the wheelflanges on theinside and forcing them out of their course off from the rail,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

9. A derailing device consisting of a railway-rail having aportion ofits head cut away and continuous unbroken web and flange, and a partmovably connected therewith so as to constitute in normal positionacontinuation of the head which is integral with the web and flange, andin abnormal position to present an incline or turnout and an openingthrough the rail-head in the path of the wheelflange, substantially asand for the purposes set forth.-

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE GIBBS.

lVitnesses:

E. V. WRIGHT, OHAs. L. Gross.-

